


Time Can't Fix Your Teeth Or Heart

by CynicalBonehead



Category: Smile For Me
Genre: Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, No smile for me tags exist so here i go a trailblazer, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reconciliation, Redemption, Slow Burn, Smile for me - Freeform, Teeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 11:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19108438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalBonehead/pseuds/CynicalBonehead
Summary: Post-Game. Like literally after you leave Habit in a good ending.A former friend finds him and Habit gets a helping hand extended to him.Finally.





	1. Chapter 1

Habit's mind was being flooded with thoughts, as the flowerkid left his office.  
His whole paradigm was shattered, the moment he was given the same species of flower he knew so long ago. He felt the petals between his fingers, and sighed a breath filled of nostalgia. Habit had a flower as his only friend for so long. Lily. 

He could still remember raising Lily from a seedling, to a bountiful flower. God he was beautiful. He got stiff. Why did he refer to Lily as a boy? Habit sat in a rolling chair and held his head in his hands.  
His thoughts were not slowing down. There was no one in the area who would help him. Not after what he was planning. His only friend had to take care of other matters. What was he going to do??? 

Just then, he heard the elevator door open. He got up curiously, hoping, that maybe it was someone he knew.  
The door opened, much to Habit's shock, it was Kamal. He didn't know what to even say to him. The last thing Habit could recall, was making fun of Kamal's teeth and firing him. 

'I...was making fun of him... like Martha did with me...Oh god Martha is still-' Habit's thoughts halted to look out the window, to the giant mechanical pair of lips in the carnival. 

"It's off Dr.Habit." Kamal replied as-a-matter-of-factly.  
His face was painted with uncertainty and hesitantce. Habit couldn't blame him, he had gone off the deep end and almost didn't come back. 

He decided to stop his facade then and there. "I suppose that you told flower child about my scheme and let them in here." He sunk to sit on his desk, gazing out the window. 

Kamal stood firmly. "Yes. If i couldn't get through to you, someone like that kid was perfect to knock some sense into you." 

Habit chuckled, instead it sounded hollow more than anything. "Instead of spreading smiles, i just gave more of the frowns to everyone. Including you." 

Kamal raised his brows in surprise. "Mm. Yeah-" He was going to throw a snappy remark to possibly rub salt in his wound; except Habit was already crying. As much as Kamal wanted to tear into that man, he didn't have it in him. Habit looked so broken. 

Kamal took a step towards Habit, and to further shock him, Habit flinched. He backed up and gazed down at the diary pages that kid gave him. Was...that stuff true..? 'Is that why he almost looks scared of me right now?? Because I'm mad??'

"Boris, I'm not going to hurt you.." 

Habit was still nervously laughing, his eyes looked right at Kamal, but stayed distant. "You've..s-said that before." 

Now that sent a chill up Kamal's spine. This hadn't occurred between them before. Habit's tone even sounded different. He sounded like a..scared child. The pieces came together for Kamal. He had seen that odd slideshow, located on the terrace. At the time, he couldn't make sense of it...but with the diary pages he had.. Habit's mannerisms in that moment? 

Oh god.  
"Boris." Kamal tried to step toward Habit slowly, but Habit started hugging himself. 

"I-I wasn't.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.." Habit repeated over and over. 

Kamal frowned, he had thought of yelling at Habit, so many times. Yet, he had no idea just how emotionally wounded he was. Sure Habit was a softy....but what he was seeing even made him tear up a little. He couldn't say anything, so he simply sat on the ground across from Habit. Though he kept his distance. 

Kamal gazed at the flower on the desk above Habit. "Where did you get that?" 

Habit hesitantly raised his head to look at the lily. "I... I...Grew it..No I..I don't know!!!" 

Clearly, Habit wasn't grounded in reality. At least thats what Kamal guessed. He looked around for something to maybe ground him.  
There by the wall, with a camera, was Habit's puppet of himself. Kamal sighed and went to grab it. 

Habit's breathing was heavy, while he trembled. Curled into a ball. He wasn't in his office. He was at his childhood home, waiting for his father to come at him.  
Out of fear, he peeked to see if his father was there. Instead..  
There was a puppet that looked like himself..?

"Hell-o Boris, how are you doing?" Kamal spoke through the puppet. He felt quite silly, but Habit needed this. 

Habit looked confused. He watched the puppet carefully before he spoke. "I...I'm okay.. I think..." His voice shaken. 

"Do you know where you are Boris?" Kamal made the puppet tilt it's head. 

Habit uncurled himself and looked at his surroundings. It..Looked yellow? His. Room wasn't yellow..  
"Not..home.. i think.. i.." his voice trailed off. 

Kamal bit his lip. Was the puppet helping him???  
"Well it lookz like ur on the floor! Aaaaand you hav your signatuur coat on" 

Habit looked down at himself. It wasn't instant, but his clothes started to look more like his puffy coat. He felt hazy, but he was coming through. He wasn't 10. He...wasn't home.. "I'm on..the floor.. of.. of.. my office." 

Kamal sighed in relief. "Yup indeedy! U r safe!" 

Habit laid back against his desk, gradually slowing his breathing. It was a process to get Habit back to reality. Kamal wasn't even sure how long it took. If he had to guess, it felt close to an hour. 

Kamal lowered the puppet and inched a bit closer to Habit.  
"Hey." 

Habit glanced at Kamal, seeing him much clearer than before. His face felt hot with embarassment.  
'He just saw everything. How am I going to explain this to him???? He already must have thought I was insane before. Now i just hallucinated for-.. BLYAT!!' 

"Boris?" 

Kamal's voice broke him out of his haze and he sat up just a little. "I'm..I'm fine now." 

Kamal looked skeptical and didn't move. "Not fully." He scratched his neck and sighed. "Boris, look. You don't have to tell me everything right now. That was... a lot, on both of our ends. Just, hang on for a second." Kamal got onto his feet, walked over to the watercooler in the corner of the room and grabbed a cup. 

Habit lazily watched him. Shaking off dissociation was no easy task for anyone. Habit was still feeling it but minorly. He was aware of his surroundings, but everything felt like he was dreaming it all. No one had ever seen him have a flashback before. So why wasn't Kamal running away from him? 

Instead of what Habit expected, Kamal came back and handed him a cup of water.  
"I'm sure that took a lot out of you." 

Habit weakly chuckled, as if to say 'yeah really' and accepted the water cup from Kamal. Hyperventilating made his mouth a bit dry. The feeling of water going down his throat, helped the situation feel a bit more real to him.  
"Is..that my puppet??" 

"Oh. Well. Yeah. I used that to get inside whatever haze was around you." Kamal said, sitting back down. He had to admit, he was tired too.  
Running to the office, having multiple emotional rollar coasters and helping Habit come back to present day. That was a lot for one guy. 

Habit looked down at his cup of water. One simple word escaped from his lips. "Why?" 

Kamal froze. "Why what?" 

"Why did you help me? Not to make offense to but.. I was pretty awful to you. I wouldn't have blamed you if you hit me at least once." A sad smile spread across his face. 

"That wouldn't solve anything Boris. It'd just make things worse." 

Habit tried to process that. Yet again, his expectations weren't met. The Flowerkid gave him a chance...and Kamal was still helping him. "I dont understand..." 

Kamal groaned lightly. "I want to hate you Boris. I do. But. I know you weren't a madman. You were..a softie a-and sometimes a big idiot, but not insane." 

Habit furred his brows. "Kamal, I just wildly hallucinated. I almost tore out someones teeth while releasing laughing gas into an entire resort." 

Kamal simply held up the diary pages he was given earlier. Habit grew quiet. "They only gave me these, because they knew I'd come up to see you. I admit, I almost felt foolish to believe them. Though.. seeing you on the floor like that proved they were right." 

Habit gazed at Kamal, confusion still in his eyes. He sunk to lean his back on his desk. "Kamal..I'm sorry. For insulting your teeth.. I-I promised myself I wouldn't be like him.. But i did anyway-" 

Kamal cut him off as soon as he saw tears in his eyes. "-Hey. If that 'he' you're speaking of, is who i think you mean, then stop right now. I can't say I'll forget you did that, but beating yourself up infront of me won't make me forgive you." 

Habit sat up, looking at Kamal. "You...are willing to forgive me..?" 

Kamal folded his arms. "Possibly. It seems like while you had the best intentions, you got REALLY misguided." Feeling resigned, he took a deep breath. "I think you needed someone to talk to. Even before you fired me, I knew that."  
When he looked up at Habit, tears were running down his face.  
"Boris. I'm willing to forgive you, if I see you act better. Get help." 

That was odd. He wasnt crying because he was sad. Not even close. What he felt was warm. It stung but in a nice way.  
Finally, a real smile appeared on his face again.  
"Okay. I promise I will." 

Kamal hesitantly returned the smile, then rose to his feet. "Do you feel up for a walk? There's..quite a bit I'd like to ask you, if you're alright with that." 

Habit, still feeling that warmth inside him, staggered onto his feet. He used the rest of his water, to water the lily on his desk. After picking up the potted flower, he looked at Kamal.  
"Sure."


	2. Distraction

The pair walked through the empty habitat, thankful that the air was clear again. Habit stopped in the courtyard to look at some parts of the former Carlas. Well. He forgot really where that name came from. With a hazy mind, he gazed around, no longer feeling proud of the murals he painted. The murals of him, all were what he wished to be.  
Actually happy. 

Kamal glanced at Habit, watching the emotions change on his face. He wanted to ask Habit so many things. Yet every time he opened his mouth, words never came out.  
The only noise they heard was the soft mountain breeze. It was depressing, yet eerily relaxing. Given their prior experiences. Habit sat on a bench for a moment and remained quiet. He took a quick glance at Kamal, then an accidental chuckle came out of him. 

"Its funny, I figured you would have been asking me questions by now." He took off his hat and let it fall out of his fingers onto the grass. 

 

Kamal huffed a little and sighed. "I guess I'm trying to process everything. Still. That's what you're doing, aren't you?" He asked, sitting down next to him. 

Habit thought for a second. "Yes. The flowerchild walked out of here with such purpose. They knew what they wanted. Yet. Here I sit, not knowing how to carry on. Haha. It is very silly yes?" 

Kamal shook his head no. "I kinda felt like that after you fired me. When you get blindsided like that, really throws off your groove." 

"I think this more than just a blind side." Habit remarked, one of his brows raised. He then stared off into space, looking at the courtyard and all within it. His mind picking it and himself apart. 

 

Kamal had a hard time finding his words, he never expected Habit to be so quiet. Soon as he tries to speak, Habit interrupts him.

"Do you think it's too late for me?" 

His eyes widened,"What?" 

"Am I doomed to be who I feared.. its.. not too late for me to change?" Habit's voice started to crack. "Flower Child saw sometheng in me.. but i dont know what eet is. I know I was selfeesh and destruktive but.. please I need you to tell me that.. deap down Im a goud pursun…" 

Kamal grew quiet for a moment, attempting to gather his thoughts.  
"You aren't evil…and you weren't insane. Boris, you were.." Kamal sighed nervously. "You have a lot going on with you. Whatever your parents did to you, what they said. I told FlowerKid about the big event, because I knew you'd totally lose yourself if you won."

Habit remained quiet, watching Kamal. Kamal continued.  
"I….I don't think you're a bad person Boris. You just lost your way and almost didn't find your way back y'know? I'm saying what you did, wasn't bad. I think there's ways you can make up for it-" 

Kamal stopped talking when he heard a sniffle. To the surprise of no one, Habit was already in tears, but he failed to muffle himself. "Sorree.. I am big baby. A babua even." 

"You aren't a baby. You're just a softy." Kamal gave a slight smile. 

Habit weakly chuckled and thoughton Kamal's words.  
"You said, there are ways I can make up for my actions. How?" 

 

Being put on the spot like that, made Kamal get goosebumps. He racked his brain for a moment, until he caught a glimpse of Habit's teeth.  
"Get rid of the extra teeth." 

 

Habit self consciously closed his mouth and felt hot in the face. He almost forgot about those.  
"I ...suppose that is necessary. Though getting them out myself would be painful. It'd be suspicious for a different dentist to see my mouth." 

Kamal nodded. "Pretty much. Besides, you were one of the only local dentists around here. Other than you there's.. your-" 

"-Nyet. 

"Understandable. So. What are you going to do? Teeth extraction is extremely painful. Would you even be functional enough to perform it on yourself?" 

Habit sighed. "Not really. I cannot keep these though. Yet options are very limited." 

 

Kamal sat up a little bit. "I mean. I think I could." 

 

"What?" Habit felt surprised, shocked and maybe even a bit scared.  
"I. Well. Its true. You have performed dental operations with me in the past. I don't. I don't want you to do it if you aren't comfortable."

Kamal scowled a little. "Look, that doesn't matter. If I'm able to do it and you let me.. then I'll do the best I can." He glanced at Habit out of the corner of his eye.  
"So do you want it done or not?" 

 

Habit took a second. He glanced at the potted lily. His conscious told him, that it was something that needed to be done. With a heavy sigh, he nodded at Kamal. It was time for him to make the first step to put this behind him.  
Saying he was scared, would be an understatement. Change always scared him, but maybe.  
Maybe this time it wouldn't hit him in the face.  
"It has been long day. I'm sure you want to go home and rest. You do surgery tomorrow? If you feel up for it?" 

 

Kamal was surprised he wanted it so soon. Going home would have been nice, but he realized he'd leave Habit by himself.  
'I can't just leave him. Not after seeing him break down. One more day in this place wouldn't kill me.' 

"Boris, it's fine. Tomorrow I'll do it, but as for today.." he gazed around for something to do, and the carnival caught his eye.  
"I can kick your ass in whack a molar." 

 

Habit was taken aback by the sudden words that came from Kamal.  
It got him to softly smile.  
He got off the bench and helped get the gates to open. Sure enough, the whack a molar game was still working. The attendant that operated it was nowhere to be seen.  
Neither of them dwelled on it for too long, and Habit tinkered with the machine a little to get it to come to life. 

Kamal laughed a little watching Habit stagger onto his feet.  
"I'll use…." He looked around them, and snatched up a bat. It was wooden and just a little singed from being near the fire. 

Habit looked at it in confusion, but shook his head. "Probably Tim Tam." 

"Yeaaaah. I don't doubt that possibility."  
It was surreal. The both of them just shooting the breeze, while Kamal was whacking away at rotten teeth. Habit made some snide comment, everytime Kamal missed. 

"Oh dear. How were you a dental assistant if you hit a healthy tooth?" Habit chuckled. Everytime he laughed, he covered his mouth to hide his teeth. 

"I dunno Doc, you hired me." Kamal sat on the grass in a huff. His score was 25. 

"Decent." Habit picked up the bat and tried it out himself. Some intrusive thoughts snuck in his mind, but he did his best to keep them out. Focusing instead on the game, and Kamal watching him. He ditched his coat when he was done, that thing was cooking him a little. 

"Laugh it up. You beat me by 5." 

"5 makes big difference you know." Habit chuckled again.  
Both of them were a bit sweaty and laying on the ground. Habit needed this. Just a harmless moment in between stressful ones. Now how understood the phrase  
'Take a second to breathe.'  
Maybe, he really was ready for tomorrow.


End file.
